Skip to main content

CAA: Majority of Canadians believe texting while driving has got worse

83% of Canadians surveyed believe that texting while driving has got worse over the past three years and is also their number one concern alongside drink driving, according to the latest research from the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). In addition, 96% said that drivers who text are a threat to their personal safety on the road.
January 2, 2018 Read time: 1 min
83% of Canadians surveyed believe that texting while driving has got worse over the past three years and is also their number one concern alongside drink driving, according to the latest research from the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). In addition, 96% said that drivers who text are a threat to their personal safety on the road.


CAA’s findings are based on a poll of 2,003 Canadians carried out in November, which also showed that other distractions while driving such as emailing, talking on mobile phones and talking to/engaging with in-car technologies are increasingly becoming an issue.

Jeff Walker, chief strategy officer, CAA National, said: "Despite anti-texting and driving laws in all provinces across the country and several years of public education campaigns, Canadians still don't seem to be getting the message.”

"Studies show drivers are as much as 23 times more likely to get into a collision when they text and drive. It's important we all put our devices down and stay focused on the road”, Walker added.

Related Content

  • Growth of ANPR applications for enforcement, tolling and more
    February 1, 2012
    Automatic number plate recognition continues to find new applications beyond the traditional. In coming years, we can expect the application set to grow significantly Moore's Law has seen to it that computer processing power has improved out of all comparison in the 30-plus years since the first working Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system was created by the UK's Police Scientific Development Branch. The attendant increases in systems' capabilities have resulted in ANPR being deployed globally
  • Survey reveals most dangerous driver behaviour in construction zones
    April 26, 2012
    According to a 495 Express Lanes survey of law enforcement officers serving in Northern Virginia, texting while driving is the most dangerous behavior in construction zones, ahead of speeding, aggressive driving and not obeying changing traffic patterns. Yesterday, in conjunction with National Work Zone Awareness Week in the US, partners on one of the largest highway construction projects in the region released these findings in a new distracted driving report.
  • Connecticut Transit uses web feedback to improve user experience
    May 27, 2014
    Connecticut champions open government and open data to help fostertransparency, accountability and citizen engagement – and that includes transportation matters as Andrew Bardin Williams discovers. The last thing anyone wanted was to inconvenience or displace others - least of all people who lived and worked in the neighbourhood. Yet, workers in an office building in downtown New Haven, Conn., were tired of shuffling through hoards of people who kept sitting on the stoop to the building while waiting for th
  • Maturing photo enforcement gains legal status, public support
    August 2, 2012
    In the US, affirmation of the photo traffic enforcement sector's legal status and rising public support were significant aspects of 2009. James Tuton, President and CEO of American Traffic Solutions, looks back over the year. In 2009, the photo traffic enforcement industry in North America continued to grow and mature, accompanied by increased public, legislative and legal scrutiny. While public support remains strong, we also saw increased attempts to undermine the industry by representatives of a small bu